The Most Important Book I Read This Past Year
If I could entreat you to read one book besides Scripture this year, it would be John Piper’s Bloodlines.
Bloodlines describes Piper’s coming of age in the 1960′s American South, highlighting his redemption from the sin of racism. Piper also expounds on how Jesus is enough to cleanse each of us from the still widespread sin.
Desiring God has graciously provided Bloodlines as a free download today. The book is worth owning a hardcopy of, but this version is free so there is no excuse for not reading this book.
Bloodlines helped me to see where the sin of racism remains, but showed me the power of the cross to expunge even the grimiest filth that lies in the depths of my heart.
Click here to get the free download. It is worth your time.
The Incessant Battle of Self-Control
I recently finished The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins, which tells the story of a group of teenagers who are forced by an oppressive government to engage in fierce battles to the death within a booby trapped arena. Later on in the series, the victors of the battles become leaders in a bloody revolution to overthrow the cruel regime.
The vivid battle scenes described by Collins reminded me of a quote I recently encountered on “The Christian ‘Mean Streak’ In Self-Control.” The quote is by Ed Welch and found in John Piper’s When I Don’t Desire God, a book I heartily recommend.
…there is a mean streak to authentic self-control…Self-control is not for the timid. When we want to grow in it, not only do we nurture an exuberance for Jesus Christ, we also demand of ourselves a hatred for sin…The only possible attitude toward out-of-control desire is a declaration of all-out war…There is something about war that sharpens the senses…You hear a twig snap or the rustling of leaves and you are in attack mode. Someone coughs and you are ready to pull the trigger. Even after days of little or no sleep, war keeps us vigilant.
Click here for Welch’s entire article: Self-Control. The Battle Against One More by Ed Welch.
The Struggle
I intensely struggle with self-control. Far too often I am overrun with fleshly desires that should have been controlled. A lack of self-control comes in all shapes and sizes. For me, it is often squandering of valuable time, procrastination, or making a foolish impulse buy. You may have other problems associated with a lack of self-control; pornography and alcohol and drug abuse are some of the most devastating.
Though struggles may vary, any lack of self-control is devastating.
A man without self-control
is like a city broken into and left without walls.Proverbs 25:28 ESV
Self-control does not enslave us. True self-control frees us from following our own warped passions and pursue truth.
Are You At War?
True self-control is found only in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus has freed us from our bondage to sin and death. In Jesus, we can now pursue good things. But while self-control is a gift, we must put it to use. There is no “let go and let God” approach to self-control. We must wield every weapon in our arsenal by the power of the Spirit of God. Victory over the flesh will only come through intense battle after intense battle.
You may be thinking this is too hard. Why fight it? “If I am saved and going to heaven, why not just coast through the remainder of this life indulging my fleshly appetites? Isn’t this the best of both worlds?” If this is your type of thinking, my counsel to you is that you may not be saved. Remember the words of our Lord Jesus.
Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. Luke 13:24 NIV(1984)
Make war against the lust of the flesh in the Spirit of Christ. The battle is long and hard, but the stakes are high.
Which Path Are You On?
Matthew 7:13-14 ESV
13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
This passage always shakes me up a bit. The wide path of destruction overflows with people streaming to their doom. Those on the path to destruction encounter little resistance on the easy road to hell.
In contrast, few make it down the difficult road that leads to life. Most never enter the narrow gate to make the arduous journey. To make matters worse, many who assume to be on the narrow way of life are in reality on the fast track of destruction.
So which of the two paths are you on? Are you skipping along the path of destruction? Or are you running the difficult race on the path to life?
Look around for road signs.
Is your journey marked by love for God and neighbor? Does the fruit of love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control grow along the path? Is Christ the sole object of your faith?
These are signs that you are on the right track.
Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.
The story of Enoch in Genesis 5:21-24 enthralls me. Enoch, a seventh generation descendant of Adam, walks with God and avoids death. The ESV reads:
21 When Enoch had lived 65 years, he fathered Methuselah. 22 Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters. 23 Thus all the days of Enoch were 365 years. 24 Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.But what does it mean that “Enoch walked with God?” The Bible only makes such a striking pronouncement of Enoch and his great-grandson Noah. How was Enoch “not” and what does “God took him” mean?
Hebrew 11:5 ESV sheds further light:
5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God.Unlike other men, Enoch escaped the curse of death. The accounts of the lives of Enoch’s relatives found in the surrounding Scriptures all end with “and he died.” But not Enoch who did not taste death. Only Elijah accompanies Enoch in escaping the common fate of man.
Then, we see that Enoch was “commended as having pleased God.” Again, only one other person receives such recognition, Christ Jesus Himself. So Enoch walked with God and pleased God? How is this possible? Hebrews 11:6 ESV tells us.
6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.Enoch walked with God because he walked in faith. Enoch sought to draw near to God in faith, believing God would reward him. God did reward Enoch. Enoch escaped death and was given eternal life.
God still rewards those who seek Him. You may not escape the blight of death like Enoch, but you can still walk with God on both sides of eternity. How so? By faith.
Thanksgiving Thoughts
Thanksgiving day is nearly upon us and Whitney and I are glad to be spending the holiday with our family back in Alabama. Thanksgiving takes on a more special meaning now that we live in Texas, over ten hours away from family.
God has graciously allowed us to spend every Thanksgiving back at one of our homes. This time with our families represents something we give great thanks for; understanding ministry won’t always afford this luxury.
Often, we gather around at Thanksgiving and celebrate the good things we have received. We talk about being thankful for family, provision, health, and a host of other blessings. However, often we fail to be truly thankful because we view these things as blessings we are entitled to receive. We can only be truly thankful when we recognize blessings for what they are, gifts from a gracious God.
I am most thankful for my time with family at Thanksgiving when I recognize that God has blessed me with a gracious gift. Sometimes in my sinful heart I forget.
I pray this year you would take time to be thankful, remembering that there are no entitlements.
For some helpful thoughts on the Thanksgiving holiday see the following:
Read a church historian’s perspective on Thanksgiving.
Let my friend Casey Lewis challenge you to give thanks to God for everything this year.
The Influence of Love
There are some texts of Scripture that warrant deep thought and meditation no matter how familiar you are with them.
Matthew 22 contains Jesus’ discourse with a Pharisee concerning the greatest commandment and can be classified as one such text. Matthew 22:36 records the Pharisee asking, “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus responds with the familiar words, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.”
When meditating on what it means to love the Lord in that way, a long list of application arises. It seems that figuring out how to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind is a pursuit that never ends. In fact, the pursuit never does in this life.
However, this morning when meditating on the text, I began to think about how love affects the way we talk and act both to the person we love and even when they are not around.
Perhaps this is best illustrated by looking to marriage. I love my wife. So the love I have for her governs the way I speak both to her and to others. I often speak to her in very affectionate ways. (Though she may say not often enough!) I tell her I love her, compliment her, etc.
This describes how my love for her affects the way I speak to her directly. On the reverse side of that, my love for her governs how I speak to others, especially other women. For instance, I would not use endearing terms when speaking to another female (close relatives excluded and even then there is an obvious difference).
Any comments or interaction with my wife and others are drastically influenced by the love I have for her. The same can be said of my actions.
If the love I have for my wife affects my words and actions both to her and to others, how much more so should my love for God affect my words and actions to God and others. Perhaps that is why the second greatest commandment, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself”, is so closely linked with the first. Such a profound love for God cannot help but affect the love you have for your neighbor.
In light of this, here are some questions for us to ask ourself today:
Can my love for God be seen in the manner and frequency of my prayers? Unfortunately, the answer to this is probably always “yes.” So a better question might be, “What does the manner and frequency of my prayers say about my love for God?”
Do I speak to God coldly or affectionately?
Does my interaction with others evidence a sincere love of God?
Does my devotional life show an interest in getting to know God for who He really is? Or am I just wanting to spout off a list of needs in prayer and find a quick pick me up of encouragement from Scripture?
Do I think about how my words and actions towards others affect my relationship with God?
Do others see my actions and words as being influenced by my love for God? Is this a positive witness and testimony to unbelievers?
Hope these are helpful. Look to Jesus, the only One who has ever loved God with heart, soul, and mind!
Can You See Change?
Today, as I was studying part of 1 Peter, a certain portion struck me.
1 Peter 1:14 says, “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance…”
Conversion brings change. Becoming a Christian involves spiritual rebirth. A real and significant change takes place when a person truly becomes a Christian. The passions and desires and thoughts that once characterized a person in his or her lost state should no longer define that person. A new knowledge has been given to the believer. They are no longer bound by sin but free to pursue good works and newness of life.
Think about it for a moment. Is there significant change since your conversion? Do you still pursue the passions of your former ignorance?
If the answer is no, then find out why. Are you really a Christian? Have you hardened your heart and quit pursuing fellowship with Christ?
It is important to remember that we do not change our lives in order to gain a right standing from God. That is working for one’s salvation. Salvation is a free gift from God. But when we are saved, a change should spring forth from that salvation.
In fact, no change equals no salvation.
This weekend, take some time to reflect on your life before you became a Christian. How has it changed? Where has it not changed? Let such questions drive you to the foot of the cross, where Christ secured the change you never could.
The Dark Side of a Three Day Weekend
Well we are just off the heels of a relaxing long weekend. I hope you enjoyed your extra day off. But those extra days off seem to come at a price. Do you ever feel like you now have to get 5 days of work done in 4 days? Sometimes it seems a 4 day week is longer than a 5 day week! We just get so busy fitting all the things in we have to get done.
Now I am not saying we shouldn’t have long weekends. By all means let’s have more of them! But they do make for exceptionally busy weeks. And often during exceptionally busy weeks, the first thing to go is prayer.
Do you ever notice that prayer is one of the first things to go in your life when you get busy? There just isn’t enough time in the day, so we think more about the tasks at hand and less about God. Instead of running to the One who created the world in 7 days, we get in a hurry and wind up attempting all these things apart from Him.
Martin Luther, the great Reformer, understood the importance of prayer. It was during the busiest of days that he set aside the most time for prayer. Luther understood that God’s will was accomplished only with God’s help.
Maybe we don’t go to God on the busiest days because we aren’t all that interested in accomplishing His will. It is nice to ask the Lord for His blessing on the days when there is time. But when there is little time, we seek to accomplish our own wills by our own power. Setting aside 30 extra minutes of prayer time won’t make you any less prayerless when you are seeking your own will in your prayers. But start seeking God’s will in your life and you will be driven to your knees for half-hours that pass like seconds.
Do you find yourself prayerless on busy days? Who are you busy for?
Are you busy serving God or serving yourself? You don’t need God for self-service.
Jesus says, “Pray then like this:
“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.”“
25 Years of Grace
As my 25th birthday draws to a close, I am left reflecting on the last quarter of a century that has marked my life so far. All that I am sure of is that it has been 25 years of grace.
It was grace from the beginning. I didn’t choose the family I was born into. My family is integral to who I am. What shapes one, especially in the early years, more than family? By God’s grace I was born into a family that knew Him, a family that at least tries to value the things God values. I could have been born into a billion different families where I may have never heard the name of Jesus. But by God’s grace, I wasn’t. My family may not be perfect, but they know a Jesus who is.
It has been grace all the way through. Blessed with good churches and good friends growing up. Protected through high school and college, both in terms of physical safety and from making irreparable mistakes. I was drawn to the Father somewhere along the way, a benefactor of the greatest grace one could know.
Then there is Whitney, another sure gift of grace.
As I reflect on the past 25 years, the reasons to celebrate abound. But the reasons I have really aren’t about me, but 25 years of God’s abounding grace.
A Helpful Tool
Tools are important. Tools help a builder construct a house. The internet is a tool that allows us to communicate. And there are also many tools available to help and guide us along the path of spiritual growth.
One such tool is a daily Bible reading plan. Reading the Scriptures on a regular basis is important as we seek to grow in Christlikeness. God has spoken in his Word and we would do well to listen. However, most of us will fail to just pick up the Bible every day and read because we feel like it. We need a plan, a tool to help us dive into God’s Word daily.
This subject is on my mind because today I am beginning a new Bible reading plan myself. I have been reading some books of the Bible slowly and carefully over the summer, but now it is time to return to a normal plan that will allow me to read the Bible in a year. Since today is my birthday, I felt it to be a great day to start.
Several great options for reading plans exist and can be found here. I have chosen the M’Cheyne One-Year Reading Plan for this year.
It can also be helpful to read the Bible through in different translations. For example, this year I am reading the ESV translation but next year I plan to read the King James Version.
If you do not currently have a plan that has you in the Scriptures daily, I would encourage you to check out this site and get started today. My birthday just may be a good day for you to start as well.
Bible study is the metal that makes a Christian; this is the strong meat on whichholy men are nourished; this is that which makes the bone and sinew of men who
keep God’s way in defiance of every adversary. – Charles Spurgeon
